Top Items:
The Official Google Blog:
Teaching computers to read: Google acquires reCAPTCHA — The image above is a CAPTCHA — you can read it, but computers have a harder time interpreting the letters. We tried to make it hard for computers to recognize because we wanted to give humans the scoop first, but we're happy to announce …
Discussion:
Seth H. Weintraub's blog, NEWS.com.au, Ars Technica, Download Squad, Mashable!, Search Engine Land, TechCrunch, The Microsoft Blog, Dealscape, Digital Daily, The Register, Financial Times, Zero Day, TidBITS, ChannelWeb, InformationWeek, Pulse2, ReadWriteWeb, Bits, bub.blicio.us, ClipperHouse, Google Watch, Computerworld, Wired Campus, Google Blogoscoped, Techgeist, Tech Central, Bronte Media, Between the Lines, WebProNews, The Next Web Blog, Tech Trader Daily, eWeek, TeleRead, The Web Life, Silicon Alley Insider, CenterNetworks, Search Engine Watch, Pocket-lint.com, paidContent, VatorNews, silicontap.com and Seeking Alpha
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Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Twitter Closing New Venture Round At $1 Billion Valuation — Fast growing startup Twitter will soon be joining a select group of startups with private venture round valuations of $1 billion, we've heard from multiple sources. CEO Evan Williams disclosed the round to employees at a recent all hands meeting.
Electronista:
BlackBerry Tour facing 50% return rate? — The BlackBerry Tour is suffering from a widespread defect that could seriously impact Research in Motion's bottom line, an analyst cautioned on Wednesday. The trackball on the smartphone is reported as clogging so quickly that it requires users …
Discussion:
Tech Trader Daily, Phone Arena, PC World, CrackBerry.com blogs, Maximum PC all, The Toybox, Engadget Mobile, MacDailyNews and Gizmodo
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Priya Ganapati / Gadget Lab:
Why You Can't Get a Good Phone With Verizon — Why does the U.S. carrier known for the best network have the worst smartphones? — Verizon gets plaudits for its coverage and call quality, but consistently loses out to AT&T, T-Mobile and even Sprint when it comes to getting the newest high-end handsets.
Thanks:atul
Brad Stone / New York Times:
Skype Founders File Copyright Suit Against eBay — SAN FRANCISCO — The founders of Skype are escalating their legal battle with eBay. — Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, who became billionaires after selling Skype to eBay in 2005, have filed a copyright lawsuit against Skype in United States district court in Northern California.
Discussion:
Mashable!, CNET News, GigaOM, Techgeist, Times of London, DailyFinance and GigaLaw.com Daily News
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Lance Whitney / CNET News:
Bing grabs 10 percent of search market — Microsoft's new Bing search service is the fastest-growing U.S. search engine among the top 10, according to a Nielsen report released Monday. — The total amount of searches on Bing rang in at 1.1 billion for the month of August …
Jason Kottke / kottke.org:
Your company? There's an app for that. — Few technology and device-making companies probably realize it, but they are in direct competition with Apple (or soon will be). How did this happen? Well, the iPhone1 does a lot of useful things pretty well, well enough that it is replacing …
Paul Boutin / VentureBeat:
TC50: TechCrunch50 founders' feud: “It's over” for the startup conference — “I can tell you that this is the last TechCrunch50,” event co-founder Jason Calacanis told humorist Loren Feldman last night in a video interview after the close of the third annual TechCrunch50 conference in San Francisco.
The Business Of Online Video:
Confirmed: Google Rumor False, Not Acquiring Brightcove — I received a call from one of the parties involved in the Google/Brightcove rumor who would not talk on record but confirmed with me that the rumor that Google is buying Brightcove is in fact false.
Nate Anderson / Ars Technica:
Zune HD apps are here... complete with pre-roll ads — The first batch of apps for the Zune HD can now be freely downloaded from Microsoft, and they come with an unexpected “present”: static and video ads that play during launch. — Apps for the new Zune HD (read our review) are now available …
Yinka Adegoke / Reuters:
Comcast plans to bring TV shows to your phone — Leading U.S. cable operator Comcast Corp said on Wednesday it plans to offer subscribers the option to watch their favorite TV shows on mobile devices through its new wireless Internet service. — The company is also exploring adding …
Discussion:
paidContent, InformationWeek, Light Reading, Engadget Mobile, mocoNews, Electronista, DSLreports, TechFlash, dailywireless.org and Phone Scoop
Andy Greenberg / Forbes:
The Man Who's Beating Google — Robin Li has built the most popular search site for the world's biggest audience—in China. That's round one in epic battle. — On a smoggy August morning outside Beijing's China World Hotel, Li Yanhong's fan club is assembling.
Rafe Needleman / CNET News:
Aviary launches impressive audio editor, Myna — Aviary is great at making advanced Web-based artists' tools that I haven't a hope of being able to fully use. Case in point, the new audio editor, Myna, that joins the company's suite of graphics tools like the Phoenix image editor and the Raven vector editor.
Discussion:
ReadWriteWeb, Podcasting News, Aviary Blog, Maximum PC all, Download Squad and Brad Linder's digital home
Danny Sullivan / Search Engine Land:
Google's Schmidt To Book Settlement Critics: What's Your Solution? — As the proposed Google Book Search lawsuit settlement is debated, I've read calls from various critics that everything should go back to “square one” for a solution. Would Google be willing to do this?
Miles Weiss / Bloomberg:
Paul Allen Sells Wireless Spectrum Licenses to AT&T — Sept. 16 (Bloomberg) — Paul Allen, the billionaire co- founder of Microsoft Corp., agreed to sell wireless airwaves he acquired in 2003 to a unit of AT&T Inc. for an undisclosed price, according to government filings.
Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols / Computerworld:
Shh!!! HP sneaks Linux in on new laptops — Except for Dell, the major PC vendors are reluctant to admit they actually sell and support Linux. For instance, HP supports Linux quite well on its servers but is very reluctant to support it on its desktops.
Discussion:
PC World
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
Former Bebo CEO and AOL Top Exec Shields and Shine's Murdoch to Form Interactive Content Start-Up — Former Bebo CEO Joanna Shields and Shine Group Chairman and CEO Elisabeth Murdoch have formed a content start-up to produce across media platforms, both online and offline, with a focus on social engagement, according to sources.
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paidContent
Chip Chick:
iTwinge is the World's First iPhone Keyboard — We may have just come across something that may convert dedicated BlackBerry users to finally using the iPhone.The iPhone is getting a KEYBOARD called iTwinge, a real feel and tactile keyboard for those who thought their big thumbs would never allow them to use the touchscreen version.
Discussion:
TUAW, Engadget, Coolest Gadgets, GottaBeMobile.com, SlashGear, iPhone Buzz, Gadgetwise, Mashable!, MobileCrunch, DVICE, Mobilewhack.com, CNET News, Gizmodo and techeblog.com
Jay Yarow / Silicon Alley Insider:
Barry Diller: Of Course People Are Going To Pay For Content On The Web — At Goldman's Communacopia conference, another high profile CEO is telling the world the free-for-all days of the Internet won't last forever. Yesterday it was Rupert Murdoch, today it's Barry Diller.
Nik Cubrilovic / TechCrunch:
Twitter's Next Headache: API Name Squatting — Twitter continues to work through username squatting issues by reassigning trademarked and even non-trademarked user names to their more appropriate owners. It's a manual process that sometimes takes weeks, but with Twitter's growing importance …
Thanks:atul
Zee / The Next Web Blog:
Phone Calls Come to Twitter. … JAJAH, a VOIP company, will announce the beta-launch of its Twitter calling solution, JAJAH@call tomorrow. — You'll be able to make phone calls via Twitter free of charge to anyone in the world, so long as they follow you back and have JAJAH accounts.
Spencer E. Ante / Business Week:
Mint.com: Nurtured by Super-Angel VCs — Intuit is acquiring a startup conceived by a “25-year-old kid” and funded by First Round Capital, a new breed of high-risk, early-stage venture capitalist — Intuit's purchase of Mint.com was a big win for Mint CEO Aaron Patzer and the rest …
Wendy Davis / MediaPost:
Court Rules Overstock Can't Enforce ‘Browsewrap’ Agreement — A federal judge has ruled that Internet retailer Overstock can't enforce the manadatory arbitration agreement set out in its online terms and conditions because there is no evidence that consumers read the policy.
Discussion:
Techdirt
John Brownlee / Geek.com:
US Government advises technology executives to trash mobile phones after returning from CHina — Just because the Soviet Union is gone doesn't mean that the US government isn't paranoid about Communist spying and espionage. Ask frequent business travelers who have flown to China recently …
Sam Diaz / Between the Lines:
Oracle's Q1: “We grew faster than SAP” — Oracle Corp., which is facing a delay of its acquisition of Sun Microsystems, today reported first quarter earnings of $1.5 billion, or 3 cents per share, a three-percent increase over the year-ago quarter. Revenue for the quarter was $5.1 billion, a 7 percent drop from last year.
Discussion:
Yahoo! Finance, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Dow Jones Newswires, internetnews.com, eWeek and Digital Daily
Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:
EU in informal talks on Microsoft, Yahoo deal-source — * U.S. regulators deepened review last week — * Microsoft, Commission not available for comment — EU antitrust regulators are in touch with Microsoft and Yahoo about their search engine deal, a source familiar with the situation said …
Discussion:
eWeek, ZDNet Government, Techgeist, Ars Technica, The Microsoft Blog, CNET News, All about Microsoft and Electronista
